Now this is the NFL's ruling, banning local TV stations from
shooting game highlights from the sidelines.

The rule, which was passed by a 32-0 vote of NFL owners, gives
the league much greater control of local game-day coverage. It
forces local broadcast affiliates to obtain highlights directly and
only from the NFL.

The sideline excuse is ridiculous. If owners want to cut down on
sideline congestion, cut the passes to friends, family and
advertisers.

What this boils down to is the NFL wanting game highlights on
local stations to have a network logo in the lower right
corner.

"We have one of the best game-day shooters in the business inDave Smith, and under this rule he won't be able to shoot onSundays," Laslavic said. "Dave and guys like Jeff LaValley atChannel 10 are ultimate professionals. They get great stuff andthey don't get in the way.

"This is the most ridiculous ruling I've ever seen."

Brad Cesmat, the former Escondido High basketball star and San
Diego radio personality who is now working at Channel 3 in Phoenix,
agrees with Laslavic.

"Say the left tackle of the (Arizona) Cardinals is having agreat season, flattening guys," Cesmat said. "We want to do afeature package on him, but need highlights of him knocking guys ontheir butts. We can't shoot that. We have to hope the NFL getsmaybe one highlight of the guy.

"This is just a bad rule."

The Society of Professional Journalists agrees.

The SPJ sent a letter to the NFL, its 32 franchise owners and
top government officials in NFL cities and states, protesting the
ban.

"The NFL proposal isn't in the public interest," said David
Carlson, SPJ national president. "It's bad for the public, bad for
the news media and bad for the NFL.

"Excluding local stations interferes with the public's ability
to get information from a wide variety of sources. It's patently
unfair to local television stations and their audiences."

Monday, the NFL plans further discussion on this rule.

Let's hope the SPJ and local stations can bring enough pressure
to reverse this silly rule.

More NFL

In an attempt to get better Sunday-night games on NBC, the NFL
has adopted a flexible schedule for seven of the final eight weeks
of the season. For now, Sunday late-season games will be listed
with starting times of 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on the West Coast. But
game times can be changed up to 12 days before the scheduled
kickoff.

For example, NBC and the NFL can elect to push the start time ofthe Nov. 26 Raiders-Chargers game at Qualcomm Stadium from a 1:05p.m. kickoff to 5:15 p.m. The idea is to give NBC a better choiceof games on Sunday night.

In the process, though, ticket holders for those games moved by
the flex schedule must adjust. In a news release, the NFL states
"Fans and ticket holders must be aware that NFL games in flex weeks
are subject to change 12 days in advance and should plan
accordingly."

In other words, TV is more important than the ticket-buying
public.

< In an effort to give every network a game with playoff
implications, the season's last Sunday could be scheduled as little
as six days in advance. Only Sunday games fall into this plan as
well as the flex plan. Games will not be switched from Sunday to
Monday, Thursday or Saturday.

< ESPN will have 17 prime-time NFL games -- three preseasongames on Monday night and one on Friday night, and 13regular-season games. The schedule includes a Sept. 11 doubleheaderwith the Vikings-Redskins at 4 p.m. and the Chargers-Raiders at7:15.

The Raiders are scheduled for a second Monday night game -- Nov.
6 at Seattle.

< The NFL Network announced its eight-game schedule. Thefirst is the Broncos-Chiefs on Nov. 23 -- Thanksgiving Dayevening.

There are five late-season Thursday games and three on
Saturdays. All NFL Network games kick off at 5 p.m. The NFL Network
isn't part of basic or expanded cable. To get these games, you must
sign up for a Digital Sports Tier, which is available on most cable
systems, including Cox Communications.

< The Chargers and Chiefs are the featured teams Monday on
ESPN's NFL Draft Series that begins airing on the 3 p.m.
SportsCenter.

< Today is Chargers Day on the NFL Network. Starting at 9
a.m. and running to 6 p.m., the Chargers will be featured in a
series of 30-minute shows.

CBS officials hoped for good, competitive games at the Final
Four. They got neither, and the ratings suffered. Monday's
UCLA-Florida title game drew an 11.2 rating, down 25 percent from
last year.

< ESPN's coverage of the NCAA women's basketball championship
game, featuring Maryland versus Duke in an overtime thriller,
pulled a 3.1 rating -- up 19 percent from last season. An average
of 2.767 million households tuned in. The entire women's tournament
averaged a 1.5 rating, up 15 percent from last year.

< The NIT Championship game on ESPN on March 30 drew a 1.4rating, up 17 percent from last year.

Golf talk

< CBS takes over coverage of the Masters at 12:30 p.m.
Saturday and 11:30 a.m. Sunday. For the 21st consecutive year, Jim
Nantz will cover the Masters for CBS. Lanny Wadkins joins Nantz in
the 18th tower as the lead analyst. Verne Lundquist, who will work
the 16th hole, is calling his 22nd Masters.

< Former Poway High and USC star Becky Lucidi, who was
eliminated from The Golf Channel's "The Big Break V: Hawaii,"
outlasted five previously eliminated competitors in the playback
episode and earned the right to rejoin the competition.

She returns to the regular competition and the six remaining
competitors when action resumes at 6 p.m. Tuesday on TGC.

The winner of the Big Break receives an exemption to the 2006LPGA Safeway Classic, a Bridgestone Golf equipment package, $10,000in cash and merchandise from Golfsmith, a Chrysler CrossfireRoadster as well as exemptions, entry fees and travel expenses for12 Futures Tour events.

< The Golf Channel has added Rosie Jones to its LPGA coverageteam. A 24-year LPGA Tour veteran, Jones will work as an on-coursereporter.

Around the dial

Local high school softball fans can catch former Escondidostandout Maree Mena in action on TV this week when her Oklahoma
Sooners meet Texas A&M at 9 a.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sundayon ESPN in a battle of top-20 teams.

< Saturday will be a huge day for horse-racing fans. At 1p.m., ABC has the Wood Memorial and Illinois Derby. At 2 p.m., thefocus shifts to NBC and the Santa Anita Derby with a field expectedto include several top Kentucky Derby candidates. HorseRacing TVpreviews the races at 9 this morning with a replay at 9 a.m.Saturday.

< ESPN Original Entertainment is developing an eight-episode
series based on Jonathan Mahler's bestseller "The Bronx is
Burning." The nonfiction series focuses on the 1977 Yankees run to
the World Series championship and a summer in New York that
included the hysteria of the "Son of Sam" killings, a citywide
summer blackout and a bitter mayoral race involving Ed Koch, Mario
Cuomo and Bella Abzug.

John Maffei's TV/Radio Column appears every Friday. He can bereached at (760) 740-3547 or
jmaffei@nctimes.com
.